Tag Archives: festival

Pennsylvania Guild MAKERS FEST

Sunday June 8, 2014 : 10am-6pm

300 Block of North Queen Street
Lancaster, PA 17603

Admission: free

The Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen will host the first annual MAKERSfest on the 300 block of N. Queen St. on Sunday, June 8. This brand-new street festival celebrates the beauty of a finished object, as well as the act of making. The Guild invites everyone to come for the day, to start making craft, to acquire a piece from a master craftsman, and revel in the creative expression of music, food, art, craft, and more.

The event features more than 50 craftsmen, live music, food trucks, and hands-on activities for all ages that focus on the artistry and ingenuity of making. All the craft on display is the inspired work of the craftsmen in the booth, ranging from ceramics to jewelry, handmade clothing, weaving, artisan furniture, functional objects, and more.

Special activities throughout the day include:

Silk-screen your own “Lancaster, City of Makers” shirt with Graphic Communications & Printing Technology at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology

“We’re excited to bring the MAKERSFest to Lancaster,” says Sherrie Boyer, executive director. “It’s a great opportunity for everyone to get their hands on craft–whether as a brand new maker experimenting at one of our demonstration and maker tables, or as an art lover who picks up beautiful handmade works from the many master artisans at our event.”

MAKERSfest is free and open to the public. Hours are Sunday, 10 am – 6 pm, along the 300 block of N. Queen St., Lancaster.

Save the date for the return of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen to Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square on May 9, 10 & 11, 2014.

A perfect weekend to be outside with mom shopping American craft on the tree-lined boulevards of Rittenhouse Square.

Through a partnership with the Friends of Rittenhouse Square and in conjunction with the Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen will bring its signature premier Fine Craft Fair, featuring 140 of its very finest craft artists, to downtown Philadelphia on May 9, 10 & 11, 2014. This is believed to be the first professional fine craft fair at the Square.

Founded in 1944 at the recommendation of Eleanor Roosevelt, the Pennsylvania Guild is one of the nation’s largest and most recognized craft guilds, specializing in the advocacy and support of more than 1,400 members whose handwork is known for its unparalleled skill and artistry. Fine craft is often defined as the hand and mind transformation of raw materials into inspired works of art. The finished products may be either traditional or contemporary in style and design.

“Our craftsmen and women pair the aesthetics of fine art with the technical precision of craftsmanship.” says Executive Director Sherrie Boyer. “This balance creates work that is visually unique yet often fully functional. Imagine a bowl or chair. Our artisans elevate these everyday objects into works of art with style and design so that using them daily is both delightful and practical.

The Guild’s fabulous 3-day outdoor show is in an elegant district of downtown Philadelphia and falls on Mother’s Day weekend. Bring your family for a beautiful park atmosphere with street cafes, crowded sidewalks and all the pleasure of a bustling urban setting.

An annual tradition for craft-lovers in the region, the Guild returns for its 7th year on the Wilmington Riverfront with independent artists who set up in boutique booths to showcase and sell their outstanding work in all media: glass, jewelry, wood, metal, clay, fiber and more. Explore and shop thousands of unique, handcrafted works by nearly 200 fine craftspeople at the Brandywine Valley’s most prestigious fine craft fair.

This fine craft fair unites the beauty of contemporary craft, the richness of heritage, and unique designs of American craftsmen in one premier event. Seize the opportunity to support regional professionals and American handmade works of functional and decorative craft.

Surround yourself with the beauty of handmade craft while you soak in the autumn foliage of Rittenhouse Square. The inaugural autumn complement to the Guild’s spring Fine Craft Fair at the prestigious Rittenhouse Square will bring more than 140 craftsmen to downtown Philadelphia, October 11, 12, and 13.

During the three-day event, patrons can peruse original works of hand-crafted jewelry, contemporary furniture, functional and decorative pottery, designer clothing, fine porcelain, blown glass, and more. Craftsmen are jury-selected into the show, ensuring that craft lovers and collectors find products that embody precise craftsmanship, creative design, and unique style.

Philadelphia potter Jerry Bennett exemplifies these three qualities. An expert in the use of paperclay, Bennett’s ethereal pottery is carefully formed, thoughtfully embellished, and elegantly glazed. His designs and construction are highly contemporary, but draws inspiration from traditional techniques such as pit-firing.

“Buying fine craft gives you the opportunity to express your own handmade style with something unique,” says Sherrie Boyer, executive director. “And it also gives you the opportunity to talk directly to the craftsmen who made it. It’s a gift to be able to wake up under a quilt made by someone you know, or sit down on a bench that was created just for you.”

The fine craft fair is open Friday, October 11 from 11 am – 7 pm, Saturday, October 12 from 11 am – 7 pm, and Sunday, October 13 from 11 am – 5 pm. Admission is free. More details at www.pacrafts.org/october.

The SUPERNOVA Performance Art Festival is a Rosslyn Arts Project presented by the Rosslyn Business Improvement District (BID) and produced by The Pink Line Project. SUPERNOVA will debut June 6-­‐9, 2013, throughout Rosslyn, Virginia, in raw spaces, office lobbies, rooftops, parks, the Metro station, and other public places. SUPERNOVA will bring together emerging and established local, regional, national and international performance artists to present an expansive range of positions and approaches to performance art. A unique showcase of energetic artistic activity and action, SUPERNOVA is poised to establish Rosslyn as a preeminent territory for contemporary art experience.

SUPERNOVA is now accepting submissions for this performance art festival! Multi-­‐site, multi-­‐day, transdisciplinary, anti-­‐conventional, SUPERNOVA will include and not be limited to: performance art, live art, body art, relational art, action art, happenings, actions, interventions, works-­‐as-­‐yet-­‐ undefined, and those never-­‐to-­‐be defined. Or whatever you want, or refuse, to call it. Selected artists will receive a $250 honorarium, with the opportunity to apply for more funding. Limited housing and accommodations will be available, but not guaranteed. Artists are encouraged to seek individual funding for SUPERNOVA. Letters of acceptance and any supplementary materials will be provided to selected artists.

The deadline to submit entries is 5 p.m., March 15, 2013, and all decisions will be finalized by 9 a.m., April 5, 2013. Applicants are encouraged to take inspiration from the modern public parks, diversity of architecture, proximity to Washington, D.C., and lively corporate environment that makes Rosslyn so unique.

All submissions and inquiries can be sent to Eames Armstrong, chief curator at eames@pinklineproject.com.
Submissions should be formatted as a single PDF document, which includes:
• Bio and artist statement
• Title, description and duration of proposed piece(s) for SUPERNOVA
• Five .jpeg images with corresponding image script
• Link to artist’s website and online video.
• Resume/CV

In the words of performance artist Guillermo Gómez-­‐Peña, “Our job may be to open up a temporary utopian/dystopian space, a de-­‐militarized zone in which meaningful ‘radical’ behavior and progressive thought are hopefully allowed to take place, even if only for the duration of the piece. In this imaginary zone, both artist and audience members are given permission to assume multiple and ever changing positionalities and identities. In this border zone, the distance between ‘us’ and ‘them,’ self and other, art and life, becomes blurry and unspecific.” (from In Defense of Performance Art)